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New rooftop lounge in Shaw brings ‘Seychellois cuisine’ to the menu

By Jeff Clabaugh

Standing out among D.C.’s growing list of rooftop bars and restaurants takes more than just sweeping views of the city, and the new rooftop lounge at the Hyatt House Washington, D.C. Downtown Convention Center opening next month includes “Seychellois cuisine” on the menu.

Realm Rooftop Bar & Lounge is at the hotel, which is located at 899 O Street, NW, and it straddles the Shaw neighborhood and D.C.’s convention center.

Realm is as much an indoor lounge and restaurant as it is outdoor, with a large patio and fire pits. Hotel general manager Donte Johnson said it has been designed to create a one-of-a-kind atmosphere with a “sophisticated yet relaxed vibe” unlike anything in the city.

The menu may be one of the things that distinguishes it. Executive chef Keem Hughley’s menu blends French cuisine with flavors of the Indian Ocean. The menu refers to the Seychelles, the chain of islands in the Indian Ocean off East Africa, once a French territory in the 1700s before Great Britain took possession in the early 1800s.

The Seychelles became an independent nation in the 1970s, but retains English, French and Seychellois Creole as the official languages

Small plates include flavors like coconut, tamarind, citrus and curry leaf, with dishes that include oysters with coconut-lime-ginger mignonette, tamarin-gazed lamb chops, Wagyu sliders with mango chutney, coconut crab cakes and ginger-lemongrass chicken skewers.

Hyatt House is run by Donohoe Hospitality. The Realm Rooftop Bar & Lounge is open to hotel guests, business and locals.

Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids

By The Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state's lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. “We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content. Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.
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